Itzhak Perlman fiddles for his roots

Itzhak Perlman, one of the most accomplished classical violinists of his generation, will appear at Woolsey Hall on Thurs., Sept. 24. Recently, Perlman has turned his attention to klezmer music, a traditional form of Yiddish folk and dance music currently enjoying a renaissance, thanks in part to Perlman's work. Four world-class klezmer ensembles will join Perlman on Thursday. The Herald spoke with him on Monday about klezmer music, reaching the popular audience, current musical trends, and possible fisticuffs with cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

COURTESY NEW HAVEN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Perlman is at the center of the renaissance in klezmer, the music he heard as a child in Israel.

The Yale Herald: Mr. Perlman, we're honored to have you playing here. Can you talk about your relationship with Yale?

Itzhak Perlman: Well, I've got an honorary doctorate, so I think I'm a doctor of arts, so that means if anybody has a problem with arts, they can come to me and I'll fix it. I don't know. I've played many times in New Haven, but that's not Yale.

YH: When did you get involved with klezmer? Was it a radical change for you?

IP: It wasn't a radical change as far as what I thought about music, but it was different than anything I've done before. I got involved because I was approached by PBS. They wanted to do a documentary about klezmer music, maybe to have me host the documentary, maybe play a couple of minutes, try to jam with the group. I had absolutely no idea nor any inclination, especially since I'd never done it before, but I said I'd humor them and try it. I just got so carried away with it that I decided it was something that I wanted to take more seriously.

YH: Where do your tastes run in terms of klezmer, traditional or experimental?

IP: Traditional. Absolutely traditional. They bear with me, all the groups I play with, because all of them have a tendency to do a lot of new stuff. Still, I always, at least at this moment in my experience, prefer to do it the old-fashioned way.

YH: Is klezmer music becoming stylish?

IP: It certainly is on an up swing. There are a lot of groups that are popping up, and that's another indication that it's growing in popularity. You see a lot of television programs and concerts and so on. It's having a rejuvenating period right now. It's wonderful.

YH: After all of the critical acclaim you've gotten over the years, does it still mean something to have audiences dancing in the aisles at your shows?

IP: Oh, absolutely. And the only show where they would do that would be a klezmer show. If they danced during a Beethoven sonata, I wouldn't know what to make of it. I would say, "Well, gee, I thought I'd played it pretty well, but I don't know about that." It's wonderful to see people just getting on with it. It's very nice.

YH: Do you play klezmer as a cultural statement, an extension of your heritage, or simply as another type of music?

IP: Certainly as a cultural statement. The only reason that I can even have some sort of a feeling towards it is that I was basically born with it. Even though I may not have played it, it was all around me. I was born in Israel, and you hear a lot of that music, and even though I never played it, it was so familiar. It's basically like breathing, talking your mother tongue.

YH: In terms of "speaking in the mother tongue," you've made a few crossover albums, including one with [jazz guitarist] Jim Hall. How does your approach change when you play different kinds of music?

IP: Again, the most important thing is listening and applying what you hear to what you play. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. I remember one time I did a show for television with two other violinists, a bluegrass fiddler and a jazz violinist. I spoke to the jazz violinist, and he said that he was classically trained, and he had to untrain himself to be able to play the kind of jazz that he wanted to play. That's very difficult, and I think with crossover, especially with jazz, the idiom has to change. You cannot use the phrasing that you use in Mozart, Beethoven, or any of the classics in a jazz tune. You have to do different things, and actually the first time I realized that I could play klezmer was when I was doing my recording with [jazz pianist] Oscar Peterson, and after one of the takes, the producer says, "You know, that sounds like klezmer." So then I thought that maybe I could play klezmer. Not necessarily jazz, but that's the first time I found out that I could attempt to play klezmer music.

YH: My little cousins adore In the Fiddler's House. How important is it to you to make your music accessible to wider audiences?

IP: That's what I do. To play music only in your own home is silly. That's what we're here for, to try and get all sorts of music to a wider audience. But mostly, I'm just doing it because I love the music. And if it happens to reach a wider audience, then that's an extra, added thing. But I'm not going to look for music and say, `What kind of music can I play that will reach a wider audience?' If you do crossover, it's got to work. Just for the sake of doing it is not worth it. I've had so many other offers with weird ideas, you can't imagine how many times I say no to things that seem absolutely ludicrous.

YH: Do purists complain about your straying from a repertoire of classical violin?

IP: My peers? Not to my face. So far I haven't heard any bad comments from the people that love klezmer. Fortunately or unfortunately--I think it's unfortunately--a lot of record companies are looking for hooks. I don't think that klezmer for me is a hook. There is nothing more natural for me than a violin playing klezmer. I really don't consider this a crossover thing at all. In my case, you have an Israeli Jew playing the music of his roots. For me, there's nothing unnatural about this at all.

YH: As a classical musician who has experimented in other genres, what is your feeling about current popular music? Do you listen to any of it? Who are some of your favorite musicians?

IP: I listen to some. You know, you're talking to an old fellow here. I'm old-fashioned, you know. For me, 10 years after the Beatles, that was it. A lot of heavy metal, rap--stuff like that--that's something that I suppose you have to get to know, but that doesn't do much for me. I'm a fifty-something. I like Billy Joel, Paul Simon. Stuff like that.

YH: As perhaps the most recognizable face in classical music, are you constantly mobbed by adoring fans? Is it like being a rock star?

IP: No, I don't think so. My fans are older.

YH: Can I have your autograph?

IP: Yes, anytime.

YH: Who would win in a fight, you or Yo-Yo Ma?

IP: Who is going to do what?!

YH: Who would win in a fight?

IP: In a fight for what?

YH: A physical contest.

IP: No, no. Yo-Yo and I would never fight.

Back to A&E...